NEWS

Medical experts caution against herbal remedies

New Delhi: The herbal remedies for various diseases may boomerang if
proper care is not taken in their application, caution medical experts.

The death of a CSIR scientist in Delhi, who suffered from diabetes,
reportedly due to complications arising out of drinking a mixture of
bottle gourd and bitter gourd juices has sparked a debate about the
efficacy of such remedies.

Doctors say that the scientist, Sushil Kumar Saxena, 59, died of
bottle gourd poisoning. Botanists say that vegetables like bottle gourd,
bitter gourd, cucumber, squash, pumpkin and melon can turn lethal if
they taste bitter as they have a tetracyclic triterpenoid cucurbitacin
compound which is highly toxic. The compound is responsible for the
bitterness in vegetables. As such, doctors suggest these vegetables
should be consumed in limited quantity.

‘High quantity poisonous'

Dr. Anoop Misra, Head of the Department of Diabetes and Metabolic
Diseases at Fortis Group of Hospitals here, said, “Anything consumed in
high quantity is always poisonous. It creates electrolyte disturbances
in the body.”

“Bottle gourd or bitter gourd does no harm if consumed in the right
quantity. Their quantity in the form of curry is the right quantity to
be had in form of juices,” he said.

He also said that in the past the AIIMS had conducted trials related
to the efficacy of herbal drugs on different diseases. “The conclusion
that we drew is that these herbal cures are not 100 per cent treatment
for diseases like diabetes or any other disease. One can have these in
restricted quantity and also should continue with the mainline
medication,” he said.

Dr. Ashok Jhingan, senior consultant diabetologist and chairman of
Delhi Diabetes Research Centre, said, “These vegetables like bitter
gourd or bottle gourd do not have any such ingredients that can
stimulate pancreas or reduce insulin resistance.” - PTI